


Jacksonville, Florida

by Spark_Stark



Category: Criminal Minds (US TV)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, Episode: s06e23 Big Sea, Feelings Realization, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-30
Updated: 2020-11-22
Packaged: 2021-03-09 05:13:38
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,276
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27289207
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Spark_Stark/pseuds/Spark_Stark
Summary: “You’ve got three hours.”“I can do it in two.”“Make it one.”Hotch walked away, phone in hand, already moving onto his next task. A new train of thought. It was only after his conversation with Rossi that he realised. Had he just flirted with Reid?
Relationships: Aaron Hotchner/Spencer Reid
Comments: 27
Kudos: 281





	1. Day One

**Author's Note:**

> okay so i got this idea while rewatching cm. season 6 episode 23, on the first day hotch is wearing a blue shirt and then the next day reid is wearing a similar looking shirt and its a bit big on him and he has ruffled hair and honestly my mind just RAN with it and here we are... enjoy?

The Florida breeze was a warm welcome on the lakeside. There was no Jacksonville M.E available to them but Reid had taken up the task of identifying the bones, and he had done an excellent job of it. “Where did you learn anthropology?” Hotch asked conversationally, crossing his arms over his chest as he leaned against the table.

Rossi and Seaver had gone to buy lunch for the team while Morgan was chatting idly with Detective Foreman. Reid looked up at his boss as he pulled off his surgical gloves. “This isn’t technically anthropology. The correct term would be osteology, which comes from the Greek words osteon for bone and logos for knowledge. Whereas anthropology is more commonly focused on the societal and behavioural side of humans – kind of like what we do.”

He was smiling at Spencer and watching him ramble, slowly unconsciously steering away from the question Hotch had asked him, not that Aaron minded much. He wasn’t even aware he was staring at Reid until Reid looked up at him and caught his eye. “That doesn’t answer your question, um. I attended a few lectures at Georgetown last year.” Spencer murmured and redirected his eyes back down to the table on front of him. Looking over the work he had done, had he made a mistake? Why was Hotch mentioning it?

“A few lectures?” He asked. A hint of humour in his voice.

Spencer pushed his lips together in a way that almost made it seem like he was smiling. Maybe his boss just wanted a friendly conversation. That he could do. Hotch seemed to be in a nice enough mood – he had seemed a little flirtatious earlier on, but that was obviously just Reid’s mind running on hope and lust like usual. “They offer accelerated courses for associate degrees.” He swayed toward his unit chief naturally as they spoke.

The wind blew through the makeshift tent and rearranged the perfectly placed curls on Spencer’s head. “Associate degrees seem a little simple for you, Doctor Reid.” Hotch said playfully. He was in a good mood despite the imminent pressure of the case. It threw Spencer for a loop, listening to Hotch joke freely with him, but he enjoyed it nonetheless. The older man’s easy smirk and relaxed stance was… pleasant on the eyes, to say the least. Not to mention that he had his shirt sleeves rolled up past his forearms.

“It’s just… something I like to do in my spare time.” Reid squeaked, his breathing coming out uneven as he watched Aaron gravitate towards him. His eyes followed Aaron’s hand as it unfolded itself from his body and reached out to Spencer, delicately running his fingers through his untamed locks, pulling them gently back into their place.

Neither man dared to breathe, fearing it would break the moment passing between them. Spencer turned his head only a minuscule into Hotch’s touch. And just as quickly as it had come, it passed. Aaron stepped away from Spencer and dropped his hand back to his side, Spencer lowered his head staring steadily at the ground beneath his feet.

Both men tried to rid the brief interaction from their minds, neither succeeded. When Seaver handed him a paper bag with lunch in it, it came to him. He’d done it again, flirted with Reid. He flicked his eyes to the man across the table and caught Spencer’s gaze. Spencer smiled at him and he felt himself smiling back. Was Reid… he was okay with it?

That night, Spencer was knocking on his boss’ hotel room door with confidence that he had never once possessed in his entire life. It vanished immediately as Hotch opened the door to come face to face with him. “Hi,” Was all he could manage.

Hotch stepped aside to wordlessly welcome Reid into his room and carefully shut the door behind them. “Can I help you with something?” He asked, aiming for calm and professional and hoping it didn’t portray all the nervousness he’d been suppressing within himself all day.

“I, uh,” Spencer started quietly, not yet ready to look at Hotch and instead occupying himself with the contents of the room. Lamp, painting, desk, bed, door, light switch, ceiling fan. “I couldn’t sleep.”

The words surprised Spencer as they left his mouth. It wasn’t untrue, no. He couldn’t sleep because his mind was plagued by the fleeting feeling of his boss’ hand in his hair, he wanted that feeling again. The sensation and the warmth that came with it. But he absolutely did not plan on sharing that with the man across from him, he had already spoken too much.

Why was he even standing here? How did he get this far without his brain gaining control again and reminding him of how _bad_ an idea this was? “Neither can I,” Hotch replied, pulling the doctor out of his thoughts and back to the cold, unwanted reality. “And I think we both know why.”

This was where Spencer failed; emotions. He was never good with them, specifically his own. Identifying them was difficult enough, but _talking_ about them was a whole other ball game that he was very much happy to avoid for the rest of his life, thank you very much. Hotch could probably – scratch that, definitely - profile what he was thinking and feeling this exact moment, but that wasn’t the same as speaking them aloud.

Aaron could well and truly say what they both knew, what Spencer wanted, but it was not fair at all. It didn’t seem consensual somehow, to reveal how somebody else was behaving. Emotions and personal thoughts should be yours and yours alone unless you decide to share them. Aaron believed in that wholeheartedly.

“I’ve been dreaming about doing it for a long time,” Aaron continued when he sensed that Spencer wasn’t yet ready to talk. “Running my fingers through you hair.” He admitted, the calm and professional tone completely shattered by his feet as his voice grew quiet and wavered.

“Me too.” Spencer whispered so quietly it was almost inaudible.

But Aaron heard it, and that was all that mattered. “May I?” He asked, not quite able to finish his sentence. Spencer drew his gaze away from the unappealing pattern of the hotel carpet to the deep and mesmerising browns of Aaron’s eyes. He nodded.

The older man stepped forward and raised his hand in an echo of his earlier act. Carding his fingers once again through the thick yet soft strands of Spencer’s hair, he pulled just hard enough to elicit a vocal response from Spencer, a deep and delicious moan. Aaron felt himself being drawn in to the young genius under his touch by the sound. He lowered his head, not needing to lean down much to match Spencer’s height.

It was Spencer that pushed his lips against Aaron’s. Soft and delicate but firm in a way that told Aaron ‘I’m here’. This wasn’t some unattainable fantasy that he had conjured up (not for the first time) in his mind. This was real.

Again it was Spencer that guided them to them untouched double bed that seemed to be lying in wait for them in the centre of the room as Aaron deepened the kiss. It had melted into a hot and eager affair somewhere along the way that both men seemed more than happy with. Spencer’s hands were ghosting over Aaron’s hips before he made the decision to untuck the blue shirt from his pants.

The tugging of fabric spurred Hotch on as he lowered Spencer down onto the bed beneath him. Expert fingers undid his tie with ease and casted it aside with little regard. The act stirred the slowly building heat in Spencer’s belly as he licked his way into Aaron’s mouth, gaining dominance of the kiss but wilfully remaining submissive under Aaron’s body, consumed by the bedsheets and undressed man atop of him.

He pulled the sweater vest over Spencer’s head and dropped it by the side of the bed, his shirt and belt following soon after. They kicked off their shoes and socks as their trousers tightened uncomfortably with anticipation and arousal. “Will you stay the night?” Hotch asked, trying to catch his breath and simultaneously unzip Spencer’s pants.

“Yes.” Spencer responded without missing a beat. He let his arms rest over Aaron’s shoulders as he felt his cock spring free of his boxers into the warmth of Aaron’s grip. 

Aaron ran his fingers up Spencer's chest and looked deeply into the younger man's eyes. There he found a promise, a future. 


	2. Day Two

Hotch’s alarm woke them up at 6.30am. Spencer’s shirt was crumbled beyond saving. They had taken a few extra minutes that morning to indulge in the sight of each other highlighted by the sunrise. Spencer and Aaron had showered late last night and crawled into each other’s grasp almost immediately. 

The trousers were rectifiable along with Spencer’s tie, (that had taken a significant amount of time to retrieve, but not the sole reason as to why they arrived late to the station) but he would need to borrow one of Aaron’s shirts. He couldn’t risk going back to his own room and meeting one of the others on the corridor, there was no way to explain that. A half dressed and disheveled Reid sneaking out of his boss’ hotel room the morning after? No way would they risk it.

The shirt was too long on the arms and didn’t hug his chest the way it did Aaron’s, but it smelt like him and Spencer wasn’t shy to admit that he liked the idea of wearing Aaron’s clothes. He tied his tie a little tighter than usual in hope to make it seem that he wasn’t swimming in the oversized shirt, as well as tucking it into his trousers. Aaron didn’t inform him of the adorable bedhead he was modelling, he preferred the messy look to Spencer’s hair, once it didn’t cover his eyes. They were too expressive to be hidden away by barrier of brown curls. They drove to the station together and talked idly about the case.

After they delivered the profile, Hotch sided up to Reid. Not much work to do until family and friends of the missing could arrive meant that they could have their first non-work related conversation of the day. “That, um, shirt looks good on you.”

Spencer looked up at him. “Feels good too,” He responded, cursing himself in his mind for how ridiculous he sounded. “I mean – it smells like you, I like the smell of your aftershave.” He added. Hotch nodded, suddenly feeling self-conscious. He crossed his arms over his chest and cleared his throat.

“Maybe after the case, we could talk?” Aaron tried to keep his voice quiet enough as to not attract the attention of the other members of his team.

“Good talk or bad talk?” Spencer’s voice was dripping in nervousness.

Hotch raised his head to meet Reid’s eyes. “Good talk.” He replied quickly, before he raked his eyes over Spencer’s form. “If you want it to be.” Hotch added, uncharacteristically shy. Spencer stepped toward him and Hotch leaned toward him.

He could see Reid’s shoulders tighten and his hands squeeze into fists at his side. “I really want it to be.” Then he saw Spencer’s thinned lips spread into a small smile. Hotch felt himself reciprocating it. A single thought was running through his mind; kiss him, kiss him, kiss him. Oh god, how he wanted to.

The two men realised at the same time that they couldn’t. Not here, not now. Even if everybody’s attention was on Morgan and his aunt across the precinct. Hotch raised his hand and ran his index finger down the sharp line of Spencer’s jaw and stepped away. “Okay.” He said finally. Spencer watched him turn away and held his smile to himself.

People started to flood the station with missing persons reports which tied up the team for the rest of the evening. At the hotel, Reid changed out of the shirt and into a t shirt and cardigan. He folded the shirt and left his room. Hotch opened his door when he heard the knock.

Aaron stepped aside to let the younger man in and closed the door quickly but softly behind him. “Here’s your shirt,” Spencer spoke, thrusting the clothing awkwardly into Hotch’s arms.

“Thanks,” He replied, placing it on the hotel dresser.

Spencer inhaled nervously and pushed his now vacant hands into his trouser pockets. The silence spread around the room and enveloped the two men. “I don’t think we should-“

“Yeah, you’re right.” Spencer interrupted.

Hotch nodded. “Doesn’t seem appropriate.”

The younger doctor hummed. He looked at Aaron and opened his mouth, not sure what to say. “I didn’t come her for that-“ He said awkwardly. “I just wanted to see you.” He admitted. Hotch seemed relieved by it.

“I wanted to go to your room but I- I wasn’t sure.”

Both men stood, watching each other three feet apart. Hotch chewed on his bottom lip before he decided to just say what he wanted to. “I usually watch the television before I fall asleep. It, uh, helps with the nightmares.” Spencer breathed slowly and nodded, not sure what Aaron was trying to say. “Do you want to stay for a bit and…” He trailed off.

It was surprisingly difficult to ask a man you had known for almost ten years if he wanted to watch tv with you, Aaron came to realise. Spencer, however, understood what the older agent was trying to convey and he nodded. Maybe it wasn’t the actual question itself.

_‘I want you here because you make the nightmares go away’_

Aaron stepped forward and pressed his lips against Spencer’s. It was short and sweet, they broke apart only a second or two later and looked at each other’s eyes. “I’ve wanted to do that all day,” Aaron chuckled.

Reid smiled widely. “Me too,” The atmosphere in the small room shifted beneath their feet. “Feels less awkward now.” Spencer commented, his shoulders dropped along with his nervousness as he stared at Aaron’s relaxed form. This was nice, this was what he wanted. He took Aaron’s hand in his and pulled him towards the bed.

They kicked off their shoes and sat back against the headboard, Spencer unashamedly snuggled into Hotch’s side as he turned on the television with the remote lying on the bedside table.

“Does it really?” Spencer asked, some hour or so later. “Help with the nightmares?”

Aaron looked down at him, through the fringe that had fallen into Spencer’s beautiful brown eyes. “Sometimes.” He answered quietly. There was a weight of emotion behind the word.

His arm tightened around Spencer’s body. “I guess that makes sense.” He replied. Reasoning rattled through his mind but he kept the thoughts to himself, just enjoying the quiet moment with Aaron against him.

At around eleven, Spencer sat up from the bed and pushed himself off. He toed his feet back into his shoes by the bed and turned to face Aaron still lying on the bed. His eyes were half lidded and dripping with tiredness. Reid smiled at him and leaned down to place a chaste kiss on his lips. “I’ll see you in the morning,” He whispered. Aaron’s hand came up to card through Spencer’s curls. “Sleep well, Aaron.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> soft hotch,,, i love him.
> 
> pls comment your thoughts,, lets discuss!


	3. Day Three

The third day was the worst so far. The team sat through countless stories of close friends and family who had tragically lost loved ones to this serial killer and other unfortunate circumstances. Each member felt it deeply. 

Spencer noticed Hotch was particularly struggling. A teary eyed father had lost his wife and only son, and although they could confidently say that the Unsub they were hunting had not killed them, it didn’t make it any less heart-breaking. Especially not to Hotch. The man’s story hit too close to home for Aaron and Spencer wanted nothing more than to cross the room to him and wrap him up in his arms. Even if Aaron was physically bigger. 

Hotch hadn’t eaten at all that day. As much as Reid wanted to push it, place something on front of his boss and give him his sternest look, he knew it wasn’t as easy as that. He had seen Aaron try to eat a sandwich but couldn’t finish it. They all had days like that. There wasn’t much he could do.

Every time they thought they had finally gotten somewhere, something would contradict them. It was an endless, unfulfilling day and it was really taking a toll on the team. Reid could see that Hotch was trying to stay strong for Morgan, Dave could see it too. 

“I think one of us needs to say something to Hotch,” Rossi had said to him in the afternoon. 

“What do you mean? Why one of us?” 

Rossi looked him over once. “Because if Seaver said it, he’d take it the wrong way.” Reid mulled the thought over. It was true, if Seaver suggested that Aaron was struggling, he would probably think she was questioning his authority. If Dave said it to him, it would be a concerned friend checking in. But Reid… “Why do you think I should?” He asked, trying to hide his fear with puzzled curiosity. 

The profiler shrugged. “You’ve got that innocent, well-meaning aura. Aaron could never be offended by anything you said.” Spencer didn’t believe in God, but right now he was thanking somebody. The paranoia that he had tapped down during the day had sheered through him for a brief instant. 

“Oh,” He said, exhaling slowly in relief. “I think it would mean more coming from you, though.” Reid wasn't exactly sure if that was true or not, but he did know that Rossi was much better at condoning a friend than he was. He could sympathise with Aaron - Hotch, they were on the job - but he wasn't very good at offering advice in the way that Rossi was. 

He would stop by Hotch's room later anyways, to see if he was okay. 

In truth, Hotch really did seem to be alright. When he let Spencer into his room, he offered Aaron a hug. He took it and buried his head in Spencer's shoulder for a long minute before finally stepping away. "I'm okay," He said without prompting, although they both knew Spencer would ask eventually. "Not great but..." 

Reid nodded, he understood that. He took Aaron's hand in his and led them to the bed, pushing Aaron down and climbing delicately onto his lap. They exchanged lazy kisses full of emotion, there was no sexual desire or lust beneath it. Just kissing for the sake of it, to be close to one another. 

"Rossi was worried." Spencer told him, some time later when they were both settled side by side on Hotch's bed with the tv on low. 

Aaron had his arm around Spencer's waist and his head on Spencer's shoulder. "I know," He said quietly. "He can't help it sometimes." 

The younger man breathed out some sort of chuckled. "You two have a weird dynamic," He commented. Hotch looked up at Spencer with a small smile on his face, there was a depth of emotion behind it, settling somewhere in Aaron's middlemind. 

When Aaron said nothing, Spencer continued. "I mean, he's older than you but you seem to be the mature one. Not that Dave isn't mature. It's just that- I know he used to be your mentor, it's just difficult to imagine you at a point in your life where you weren't the leader." 

Hotch laughed out loud, surprisingly both himself and Reid. "You've really given this a lot of thought, haven't you?" He asked, a pleasant scarlet settling over his cheeks. 

Reid shrugged his shoulder. "We talk about it sometimes," he replied. "When you're not around." Hotch pressed his lips together in a smile, not sure what to say. The moment fell silent and both men found that they were happy to let it. They didn't need conversation, content with each other's presence. 

A while later, when the sun began to set through the hotel windows, Spencer detached himself from Aaron's grip. Hotch wasn't as tired as he had been yesterday night, he stood with Spencer and walked him to the door after he had put his shoes back on. He placed his hand on the door handle but didn't turn it. Spencer turned in his place and leaned into Aaron. Their foreheads met before their lips and Spencer's arms went around Hotch's shoulders. Just like earlier, it was slow and deep which spoke word neither man needed to say. 'We have time'. 

When they broke apart, their foreheads still together and Spencer's arms still resting on Aaron's shoulders, they smiled at each other. "That good talk I mentioned earlier," Hotch said, referring to their brief conversation from yesterday afternoon. Reid nodded and played with the strands of Aaron's hair by the base of his neck. "Maybe we could do it over dinner, at mine?" There was - in Spencer's opinion - an endearing nervousness to Aaron's voice. 

He felt himself smile more, if it was possible. Kissing Aaron's cheek, he stepped away finally. "It's a date." He whispered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> hi :) i'm still alive. school has been a bit much so i had to take a break. however, i have finally plucked up the courage to publish some of my own original work that i have been writing for a long while. it's called the accused and it's basically like the breakfast club but they all get magic. 
> 
> i'm also working on a hotchreid fic with another writer. her ao3 name is makaylajade and she's got some pretty good stuff so check her out :) thanks for reading as always. comments are my favourite thing to read.


	4. Day Four

Finishing early afternoon and scheduled for a five p.m. departure time, most of the B.A.U. found the free hours appropriate for catching a quick bit of sleep. More than likely to head to the bar when they landed back in Virginia. Spencer packed up his go bag - he always occupied the floor of the room with his belongings, not matter how tidy he tried to be - and sat idly on the edge of his bed. He thought about going for a walk, but decided against it to read one of the many books bundled into his messenger bag. His current contentment made it easy to fall into the abyss on words on paper.

The hours seemed to escape him between the pages until their was a knock on the door. It drew him from his hazy state that reading sometimes left him in when he was particularly focused on it. "Spence? You ready?" He heard JJ call from outside. He slipped the book into the bag by his feet and retied his shoes. He'd almost forgotten that he wasn't in his own space. He met the team outside in the hallway, gathering the last of their things together. The elevator was out of service, - much to Reid and Morgan's relief, they had never really recovered from that one time - they descended the stairs in twos. Hotch fell into step beside Reid behind the team.

"Are you busy later?" Hotch asked. They were far enough away from the group not to be overheard. Reid looked at Hotch beside him and felt himself beginning to smile.

"Depends." The man beside him raised his eyebrows.

"On?" He asked, a lightness to his voice that Reid hadn't heard in so long.

"I'm waiting for a very handsome man to ask me on a date." He said daringly, this could only go one of two ways Spencer had estimated.

A shy smile crossed Hotch's features and for once, Reid saw him uncharacteristically timid. "And, um, you would say yes? If he asked you over to his place for dinner tonight at..." He thought about the two hour flight back to Virginia plus the time he would need to get ready. "Eight?" He couldn't decide on focusing his eyes on Reid or the stairs beneath his feet, instead they flicked between the two nervously. Reid swapped his go bag from his left hand to his right, letting his now free hand graze against the back of Hotch's.

"I would." He answered quietly.

At eight p.m. sharp, there was a quaint knock on Aaron Hotchner's door. Spencer Reid was revealed on the other side. There was a moment when neither men did anything but breathe. Not quite able to believe that this was happening, something they had both only been able to imagine a mere week ago. How far they had jumped in the space of four days should have scared them both, but it didn't. He took a deep breath. "Hey," Spencer said first.

Hotch reached out for Spencer's hand and guided him inside the apartment and against his chest. In a quick move, he leaned down the inch in height to press his lips against the other man's. It was short, a small pressure against each other's mouth for the sake of it. Because now they could. "Hey."

A southern raised gentleman, Hotch had a subtle but romantic setting in his dining room, complete with a bottle of red wine, two glasses and candles. "I didn't expect anything else from you." Reid chuckled as Hotch took his coat from his shoulders and pulled out his chair for him.

He smiled down at Reid, the low lighting made his eyes shine despite their dark colours. "A proper man deserves a proper courting," Aaron replied in his best southern accent. It wasn't exactly his natural one, his was much less pronounced and subtle even when he didn't try to hide it. Reid laughed anyways.

"Please, put your professionalism away and speak like that from now on." He said.

Hotch almost scowled at him. "You couldn't catch me dead saying y'all."

Spencer laughed, loud and free with joy and humour. "There's still time, Aaron. I'll get there one day." He said, determination in his sarcasm.

"Plenty of time." Aaron agreed, the sound of a promise warming his chest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> this chap is short and the last one but... it's cute? anyways thanks so much for reading :)  
> i also started uploading my own original work that i've been thinking on for like two years so yeah it'd be cool if you checked it out! love you all, thanks for reading.


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